during his daughter's birthday slumber party last june. gardner was immediately taken into custody in the courtroom as that verdict was read. his wife falls church city council woman and former mayor robin gardner burst into tears she was comforted by the family priest. in urging a long prison term prosecutor alex amotto told jurors earlier this afternoon he had a choice. they didn't. their innocence was stolen. again, that jury has recommended 22 years for michael gardner. that is just a recommendation. gardner will return to court on september 7th. that is when the judge will give him a final sentence. the judge cannot increase that sentence but can lower it and prosecutors also put the judge on notice that they intend to retry that final aggravated sexual battery charge on which the jury dead locked. they will bring that case to court in september. for now reporting live from arlington, julie carey, news 4. >> thanks, julie. doug has been tracking storms all afternoon.

weather bouncing all over the place. >> we've seen the showers and thunderstorms making their way through parts of the area today. some of us have stayed rather cool to the north and east of washington. south and west though we have seen more in the way of temperatures into the 80s. that's where we're seeing the storms right now around hagerstown around leesburg just to the west of leesburg already moving through winchester. we'll zoom in on in here. this is southern portions of loudoun county and right around middleburg and right along route 50 and this will continue heavy rain associated with this, a lot of lightning, and it will continue to make its way in through loudoun county and eventually over toward fairfax county where right now we're seeing a light shower around rest op. back toward the north this portion of maryland around downsville through boonsboro and then west virginia right around shepherdstown a big storm here. this one not severe but we are seeing a lot of lightning with this storm and some very heavy rain. the entire system making its way down to the south and east. i'll let you know if that is going to affect you over the next couple hours and what we can see over the next few days as well with my full forecast.

>> thank you, doug. in the republican presidential race we knew it was coming and tonight it's official. newt gingrich is out. steve handelsman begins our team coverage from capitol hill. >> reporter: the former house leader from georgia was bursting with big ideas. critics charge he's got too big an ego and he was a tough presidential competitor. he gave ammunition to the campaign of barack obama but today helped mitt romney, too. as newt gingrich dropped out of the race, he gave his former rival a boost. mitt romney, he said, is conservative enough. >> compared to barack obama? you know, this is not a choice between mitt romney and ronald reagan. this is a choice between mitt romney and the most radical leftist president in american history. >> reporter: the former house speaker topped the republican field in december polls but he won just two primaries. gingrich out today is a mixed

blessing for mitt romney. he is still being hammered by newt. in a new ad by the obama campaign. >> i don't know of any american president who has had a swiss bank account. >> are you calling mitt romney a liar? >> yes. >> reporter: barack obama back this morning from afghanistan has spent two days above the fray. under attack by romney for politicizing the killing of osama bin laden, the president shared the credit in the war zone with u.s. troops and navy seals. he's crediting the bush administration. forcing republicans to tip their hats to him. >> it was a huge lap around the tracks for the president and, you know, look. kudos to him for it. >> back to the main campaign. without newt gingrich. gingrich vows he will keep speaking out and nobody doubts that. from capitol hill i'm steve handelsman. >> thank you. our team coverage continues with

chris gordon who spent the day with mitt romney. in the battleground state of virginia. chris? >> good evening, doreen. mitt romney is attending a fundraiser here at the ritz-carlton hotel in pentagon city tonight along with virginia governor bob mcdonald who is said to be on romney's short list of potential runningmates. now, virginia is one of a handful of so-called battleground states that are considered crucial for victory this fall. mitt romney kicked off his virginia campaign in chantilly, talking about creating jobs, standing before women business leaders. >> people asked me, what would you do to get the economy going? i say, well look at what the president has done. and do the opposite. and i -- >> reporter: after speaking to the crowd of several hundred, romney worked the room shaking hands, signing autographs. >> thank you, governor. >> reporter: and taking pictures with many including lisa jones and her 5-year-old son braden. >> we are supporting him because

we know that he's putting the national security interests of all americans as his first priority. >> it just strengthened my commitment. i believe he is the man who can come in and rhealy change things. he has business experience that he can change this economy and turn things around. >> reporter: supporters took pictures by the romney campaign bus. one took a romney lawn sign home. >> it's been a long time since i've been involved in an election like this. i'm thrilled to be part of it. >> reporter: romney is trailing president obama in virginia by eight points according to a new survey of 680 voters in april. a survey taken by public policy polling. but democrats are not taking virginia for granted. sending two democratic state delegates to the romney appearance. >> as a private businessman he would take companies, run some of them into bankruptcy, increase their debt, layoff workers and then walk away with the profit. that is not the type of president that this country needs. >> when you look at the two of these candidates running against each other i think barack obama is going to win virginia again.

>> reporter: to show you how important virginia has become, mitt romney will spend a night in the commonwealth to campaign tomorrow in portsmouth. that's ahead of president obama's re-election campaign kickoff in richmond, virginia this weekend. that's the latest live in arlington. i'm chris gordon, news 4. >> thanks, chris. john edwards' daughter left the courtroom in tears today as yet another witness took the stand in this corruption trial. kate edwards left just before an exchange between prosecutors and a woman named christina reynolds. reynolds testified about a meeting she'd had with edwards' wife the late elizabeth edwards. they apparently talked about john edwards' affair. edwards is accused of misusing nearly a million dollars in campaign money to hide his pregnant mistress. a woman was robbed on her way to church by somebody prenlding to prenld i pretending to be a cop. it happened near st. camillaus

church just before noon today. police say the woman was followed by a man who pulled up and motioned for her to stop a car. he flashed a badge and made her sit on the curb. he went through her car and stole her purse and cell phone. she was not injured. drivers should avoid the route 7 bypass because of a deadly accident in leesburg. the accident killed one person. it happened before 2:00 this afternoon between the greenway and south king street exits. police say there will be serious traffic issues for the next several hours at least. drivers should find another way to get around that area. a bouncer at a popular college park bar has been charged with felony assault. the bouncer is accused of critically beating an airman who he had just kicked out of r.j. bentley's bar. pat collins reports. >> reporter: police say the suspect is 6'2" and weighs 400 pounds. a 28-year-old bar bouncer. they say the victim is a member of the air force honor guard.

23 years old, about 6'2", about 187 pounds. the scene, r.j. bentley's a popular bar in college park not far from the university of maryland. this is how they say it happened. saturday around midnight the airman is inside the bar. he tosses a drink on somebody and he gets thrown out. a short time later he comes back. he tries to get into the bar. that's when they say the bouncer hits him, chokes him, and throws him to the ground. at one point they say the airman's condition was described as critical. he was taken to the hospital. he is still in the hospital. >> obviously a bouncer's job is to keep the patrons inside safe, to prevent people who should not be in the bar from coming inside. clearly, this is not a bouncer's

role. >> reporter: marcus anthony plummer, a bentley's bouncer, charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment. plummer lives in this group home in berwyn heights. the police were there yesterday. clifton dawson lives in the house. he's a friend of marcus plummer. >> probably didn't do it on purpose. probably, you know, angered him and then he maybe was defending himself. who knows? >> reporter: the statement tonight from r.j. bently's -- our first concern is for the young man who was involved in this accident. we are currently working with the prince george's county police to gather as much information as possible so that we can ascertain exactly what happened saturday night. suspect plummer out on a $50,000 money bond tonight pending further court action in the case. live in college park, pat collins, news 4.

>> thanks, pat. apparently there is some, i don't know, potential for severe weather out there. doug, what's going on? >> we have a severe thunderstorm warning now jim just issued until 6:45 out there right now. one storm in through portions of northern virginia but this is the storm that's been fairly increasing rapidly now. we'll zoom into that storm and show you where that is. this is up around the shepherdstown making its way right around the harper's ferry area and we'll continue to watch this very closely as it makes its way across the potomac in through harper's ferry and southern portions of washington county, western portions of frederick county, and extreme northwestern portions of loudoun county. this is going to be right around the harper's ferry area. once again severe thunderstorm warning in effect in that region until 6:45 tonight. i'll continue to keep you updated on this but it is moving along the potomac and will continue to do so at 30 miles an hour. >> thanks, doug. stunning news today when it was announced that the former nfl star linebacker junior seau had died. police are investigating his

death. they say it appears to be suicide. junior seau's body was found this afternoon inside his house in san diego. police say he had a gun shot wound to the chest and there was a hand gun nearby. as word of his death got out a large crowd gathered outside his house. his mother held an emotional news conference. >> i pray to god, please, take me. take me. leave my son. but it is too late. >> it's okay. >> too late. >> junior seau spent parts of 20 years in the nfl with the chargers mostly and then the dolphins and the patriots. he led the chargers to the super bowl in 1994. he is the eighth person from that team to die. junior seau was only 43 years old. the nfl today came down hard on four players involved in the new orleans saints bounty scandal. punishments were handed out today. linebacker jonathan vilma got an unprecedented 16-game suspension. he will miss all of next season.

linebacker scott fohita and will smith and anthony hargrove were also suspended ranging from three games to eight games. dan hellie will have a lot more on this coming up in sports. also coming up, newly released security video shows exactly what happened moments before a deadly duck boat accident. there has been a dramatic resolution for the blind chinese dissident seeking refuge at the u.s. embassy. >> after yesterday's apartment fire in chevy chase, victims returned to find this and try to decide whether they'll be able to come home again. i'm erika gonzalez and i'll have more on this story coming up. japan's tsunami swept away a prize possession. now the owner of a harley davidson that washed

the story of chen chong is far from over. he is the blind chinese dissident who escaped house arrest last week and sought refr refuge in the u.s. embassy in beijing. american diplomats oversaw several days of negotiations between chen and the chinese government. today it appeared the matter was settled but not for long. ian williams has our report. >> reporter: chen chang left the u.s. embassy this afternoon accompanied by u.s. ambassador gary loch.

they drove to a beijing hospital where chang was reunited with his family, his wife and two children, and where he'll receive treatment for injuries received during that dramatic escape from house arrest. he will be staying in china. senior u.s. officials say that is his decision, that he didn't request asylum in the u.s. they say the chinese authorities have given assurances that he will be properly treated. he'll be treated like an ordinary citizen, that his complaints will be investigated. they say he will be relocated to a safe place to live and probably be given a job in a university. now while officials also say that this deal will be monitored by the u.s., they say this follows days of sleepless nights and that hillary clinton herself the secretary of state who is here in beijing on a previously arranged visit phoned him at the hospital. he was very emotional and

apparently his words to her in broken english were "i want to kiss you." back to you. a short time later the associated press reported chang appeared to have second thoughts and told the ap in an interview that he was worried about his family's safety and that he wanted help to get out of china with his family. the u.s. officials say they'll meet with chen tomorrow to try to sort it all out. suicide bombers struck in kabul, afghanistan last night. it was about two hours after president obama left that country. seven people killed when a vehicle loaded with explosives crashed into a main gate of a housing compound. hundreds of foreign diplomats, contractors, and aid workers live there. authorities say the attackers did not get past the gate. president obama was in kabul yesterday to sign an agreement that outlines a ten-year plan for the u.s. role in afghanistan after american troops leave that country next year. and a far right wing

religious party held a prayer service in pakistan today to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of osama bin laden. about 200 people attended that service. protesters prayed and burned a u.s. flag. leaders praised bin laden and promised to carry on his mission. that party does carry a small representation in pakistan's parliament. nbc news has an exclusive look inside the white house situation room after the first anniversary of osama bin laden's death. for the first time, brian williams was given a behind-the-scenes tour. you can catch the rock center exclusive tonight at 9:00 here on nbc 4. there is another situation room here in washington at the fbi field office. wendy rieger got an exclusive tour today and joins us with a preview. >> it is very cool. it's called the command and tactical operations center at the washington field office. this is where they gather when the fbi is monitoring an event that puts them on alert, anything from the state of the union to the 4th of july. we have a lot of people gathering in our town and a lot of threats coming in, hundreds a

week, and this is where they determine the level of danger. they provide support for those fbi agents on the ground who are on the trail of a suspect. we also talk about life in the command center. these are people, after all, and in many ways it is an office just like everyone else's. we actually believe it or not had some fun with this. that's my special report tonight on news 4 at 11:00. >> interesting. thanks, wenldy. jim? we are getting our first look tonight at a set of sextuplets born last week in houston, texas. their parents are lauren and david perkins. the new family consists now of three girls and three boys. the babies were born by caesarian section. those are medical teams standing by for each of the newborns. >> they're like baby a is out. oh, we're starting! they came out within four minutes of -- total four minutes all six were out. >> the perkins underwent fertility treatments after trying unsuccessfully for more than a year to have children. all six of those children

weighed just under 3 pounds when they were born but doctors say the sextuplets are making progress. five are breathing on their own already. one of the girls is still on a ventilator and underwent surgery on monday. >> hope they've got a team for each baby when they come home. that's a handful. so changing conditions out there, huh? >> really are. if you're north and east of washington some areas stayed in the 60s all day where south and west we were near 90. i mean, absolutely amazing what is going on out there with our frontal boundary and we have some showers and thunderstorms along that and even strong storms, one in particular is now severe. a severe thunderstorm warning in effect toward the northwest of washington. this includes washington county in toward virginia, frederick county, virginia, jefferson county, and also around loudoun county in through northern virginia. these are the storms right here moving on in. let's take a look at that storm system right now. that storm that indepennt cell moving across the potomac right now around harper's ferry just to the north of harper's ferry

where we're seeing this storm. we'll zoom in even further and you can see what i'm talking about along harper's ferry road just down to the south here where the two rivers meet, shenandoah and potomac. this will continue to make its way down to the south and east. augusta, you're starting to see some of the heavy rain along 67. the heaviest rain though is just to your north and west. we are seeing some -- a lot of thunder and lightning out of this. the other storm we are watching is now really dying out here and i expect the rest of the storms to die out, too. even the one that's severe as it moves into cooler air. cooler air and easterly winds helping to stabilize the atmosphere just a little bit. you can see right along route 15 here around middleburg just to the south of route 50 is where we're seeing some of that rain right now, just lighter showers, northern portions of fauquier and prince william county that will continue to move in toward fairfax county. behind that, there's really nothing left. there are a couple showers out here but it's really about it. this is the line here. right along the frontal boundary. we'll talk about the temperatures in just a second. high temperatures today, got to 74 degrees.

a low this morning of 64. a very wide range in temperatures. not just a little bit of a wide range. take a look at these numbers. 65 in annapolis. 65 in baltimore. 89 in charlottesville. that's where the warm air was. it was also 82 in culpepper and 83 in fredericksburg. this area saw sunshine, lots of cloud cover and the easterly wind just about all day today. we did see a little sun in washington that did help us to get to the 74 degree mark. right now outside we're back to the clouds and sitting at 67 degrees. and there is that easterly wind at 9 miles an hour right now around the region. much cooler to the north and east. 62 in baltimore. 59 in aberdeen. still quite warm. still near 90 down toward charlottesville. so that boundary right along the potomac right now and we're going to see the chance for the showers and storms to move right along the potomac eventually in toward southern portions of maryland. that will continue right on through the night tonight. they're going to be right along the frontal boundary that i'm talking about. it is a warm front and it's a cold front. the cold front, warm front, they

both move up and down and oz late across the region. today they are a little further to the south. tomorrow i think they'll be further to the north. down to the south and west, warm with some showers. not just warm. i think everybody tomorrow will get into the 80s but look at the boundary. just to the north and east of washington tomorrow and once again we'll see an area of showers potentially around the exact same time we've seen them for the last two days between say 4:00 and 7:00 in the morning. so during your rush hour you may get wet once again. then tomorrow afternoon very warm air moves in as the system, as the frontal boundary moves to the east and i think a better chance of showers and storms developing across the area, maybe some strong storms, not anticipating anything severe tomorrow but we could see some more strong storms tomorrow and then again on friday we have to keep the chance for some showers there although i do think we'll see some sunshine too during the day on friday. this evening partly cloudy. warm and humid. a few storms to the south and up toward the west. that's where we're sewing those rigthose -- seeing those right now. tomorrow morning a few showers

once again across the region. make sure you have the umbrella handy. temperatures 58 to 63 degrees. we will see the good chance of showers and storms tomorrow with a high near 85. 84 on your friday. 83 on saturday. right now it looks like some cooler weather. temperatures closer to average as we head in toward early next week and there will be another chance of storms there too but a little summer coming back tomorrow. >> we're ready for it. >> thanks, doug. coming up a budget battle in virginia may be approaching a dead end. why the metro might never make it to dulles. and a decision is about to be made on the plan to let bars stay open longer in the district. coming up in sports bryce harper's home debut gets some mixed debuts. a tampa bay buccaneers head coach makes a very classy move and here at verizon center's home ice advantage for the capitals or

an update on our top story. a jury has recommended 22 years in prison for a falls church political activist found guilty of molesting children. it happened last summer at his home during his daughter's slumber party. michael gardner was found guilty on three counts today for molesting two young girls in the basement of his home. just moments ago we caught up with the parents of one of the victims to get their reaction to today's verdict. >> i'm just glad it's over. we're exhausted.

there is really nothing -- no victory. this is just a bad business that had to be done. and we're thankful for the jury's decision and how things have come out. >> sentencing is scheduled for september. the prosecution says they will retry the one count of aggravated sexual battery on which a mistrial was declared. those charges are connected to a third girl who also claims gardner molested her. a man from chevy chase has been charged with arson. investigators say he confessed to setting fire to the apartment complex where he lived. >> that fire caused more than a million dollars in damage and left many without a place to live. erika gonzalez is live in chevy chase with more. >> reporter: doreen, many of the units are boarded up and as a matter of fact they have dead bolt locks on them. many of the residents told us they won't be allowed back

inside their homes until at least saturday and even then the rebuilding process could take up to a year. in a matter of minutes 32 units of the round hill apartments on terrace drive in chevy chase went up in flames yesterday. around 2:00 p.m. this video was taken by one of the residents. the damages are over the million dollar mark and the blaze left about a hundred people without a home. katherine miller is one of them. >> there's never been a fire, not even a stove fire that i knew of here. i love this place. >> reporter: this is what's left of her home and the oil paintings she loved to create. all reduced to damp ashes. the second story to this apartment is completely gutted. there's no roof left and as a matter of fact you can still hear the static from the radio that was left playing throughout the day. miller tells me she is insured for $15,000 and doesn't know whether we'she'll be able to ca

this place home again. fire investigators say 24-year-old abraham kieflu who lived here with a relative confessed to the arson and turned himself over to authorities last night. miller says she saw him grow up in these apartments and says he must not have known what the ripple effect of his actions would be. >> made a mistake. a really big one. but a mistake. and i don't feel any judgment toward him at all. >> reporter: starting to know and find out more about kieflu. as a matter of fact, he spent 78 days in jail last year for being found guilty of a charge of malicious destruction. the management here at round hill would not speak to news 4 on camera but tells us they had no idea that this man had a criminal history. live in chevy chase, eric eka gonzalez, news 4. a bouncer from a bar in college park called r.j. bentley's has been accused of assaulting a serviceman he had

earlier thrown out of the bar. this happened about midnight on saturday. police say 28-year-old marcus plummer punched, choked, and threw the victim to the ground and knocked him unconscious. the victim is still in critical condition now. police in san diego are investigating the apparent suicide of former nfl linebacker junior seau. his body was found inside his home in san diego earlier today. police say he had a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. seau played parts of 20 seasons in the nfl. he made the pro bowl 12 times. he was 43 years old. the public and presidential race mitt romney campaigning in northern virginia today. in chantilly this morning he told a group of mostly women business owners that he is running to help their enterprises. romney will attend a fund raising dinner later tonight in arlington. his earlier gop challenger newt gingrich today officially dropped out of the race. a major sticking point could potentially derail the $3 billion second phase of the

metro-to-dulles project. that portion of the silver line will extend from reston to loudoun county. bids for the project need to go out soon but as derrick ward reports there is a big debate over who will actually work on it. >> reporter: phase one is well under way but phase two that would take the silver line to dulles airport and beyond has hit a snag, one that has become largely political. the whole thrust behind the rail extension was to get to dulles airport. the key sticking point in the important project has been labor a provision that will provide incentives for contractors using union workers of pla. >> if the pla is not structured, just exactly the way it was in phase one, from a timing perspective, it will kill the project in loudoun county. >> we don't want to see the silver line extended from falls church just to reston. we want to be able to get to the airport. >> they printed a policy with a preference for union labor that

gives them a 10% preference in the bidding process and ultimately that will jack up the cost of the project which means people will pay higher tolls. >> reporter: while the rivets are being driven across the river the final details to the agreement that will get them where they need to go, they're being hammered out right here. the stakeholders met today at the request of transportation secretary ray lahood. the meeting wasn't the first such gathering but may be the most critical. so far in getting the long-awaited silver line to dulles and beyond. time is of the essence. >> prices are better than they ever will be again probably and it is important that we take advantage of that opportunity. >> this project will move forward and the people of this region will have the opportunity to get on a train and take it all the way to dulles airport and stop in communities all along the way and even go beyond loudoun county if they'd like. >> reporter: the stakeholders seem to agree they're on the

right track but not at the end of the line. derrick ward, news 4. preservationists are fighting plans to tear down a 56-year-old church in montgomery county. the fight is over the first baptist church of silver spring. it's on the corner of fenton street and lane avenue. the pastor there says the building is out dated, falling apart. he wants to replace it with a new church and a mixed use apartment project. critics say the current church is an important example of architecture from the 1950s. the montgomery county planning board will hear the church's plans on may 31st. doug is still watching the storms out to the west of us. what's the latest? >> still watching that one severe storm now making its way in toward northern portions of loudoun county. we're also looking at southern portions of frederick county. let's look right now at storm 4 radar. southern portions of washington county, also under that severe thunderstorm warning. we're going to continue to watch as these storms move on down to the south and east and right now they do have some lightning associated with them and also just got a report out of shepherdstown. the storm just came through

there with half inch to three-quarter inch hail. very, very heavy rain and even some flooding there. this storm is around brunswick, lovtsville road and just to the north along 287. we'll continue to watch this storm as it makes its way down to the south and east over the next half hour to an hour along the potomac. >> thank you, doug. bars are not going to be open any later any time soon in the district. a council committee defeated mayor gray's proposal to extend bar hours and hopes to raise more money for the city. tom sherwood reports. >> reporter: the bar and restaurant business provides tens of millions of dollars in city taxes each year. mayor gray had wanted to extend closings by one hour on week nights to 3:00 a.m. and on weekends until 4:00 to raise an extra $3 million in taxes. but the d.c. council's human services committee which oversees alcohol sales rejected the mayor's proposal the chairman jim graham saying it wasn't a good idea for customers

or neighborhoods near bars and there is little public transportation to fight drunk driving. >> there was concern expressed this will encourage drunk driving and that there is no ability to increase the hours for bus and rail to 4:00 a.m. there were concerns expressed about noise, trash, nuisance, and other problems. >> reporter: the committee voted, 3-2, to kill the mayor's plan. graham also is considering an increase in taxes on alcohol to help fund social services, a move mayor gray opposes. >> i don't see anything wrong with the proposal we've advanced. when you look at other jurisdictions for example there are others that do justice. there are people who, you know, are associated with night life in the district of columbia who would love to be able to see us extend the hours. it wouldn't be the first time we've done it. as i said, no new taxes also and i don't want to move to introducing a new tax when i said i wouldn't do that. more importantly, i don't see anything flawed about the proposal we've advanced. >> reporter: advocates for late

night hours including many bars themselves say extending the hours would not be a public safety problem. it would generate far more than $3 million in additional sales. in the district, tom sherwood, news 4. coming up a harley washed up on the shores of canada after japan's tsunami. japan's tsunami. now we know who owns that

never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. (woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part. people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. if i can do this, you definitely can do this. we can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the...

and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. for the first time we're seeing the moment of impact between a duck boat and barge in philadelphia and we warn you in advance this video shows the accident that killed two people. the security video is expected to be used in a civil trial set to begin next week. the crash happened back in 2010. attorneys say the video shows the stranded boat waving off help from another duck boat. then it appears the operator abandoned ship before the barge overruns the duck boat. two exchange students from

hungary died in the collision. it's been five years since a 5-year-old child from britain disappeared on vacation. tonight her parents still believe their daughter will be found alive. their child is named madeline mccann and today her parents went on national television in great britain to talk about their missing child. the british police say they have reviewed more than 40,000 pieces of information in that case. last week the police released images of what madeline might look like now. they have also identified nearly 200 of what they call investigative possibilities. >> we know there is a very good chance she could be alive. there is no evidence to the contrary. we know, you know, year after year missing children, children that have been abducted, you know, are found alive. >> madeline disappeared during a family trip to portugal. federal agents and prosecutors charged more than 100 people today in connection with one of the biggest medicare scams ever. the suspects in seven cities are accused of trying to cheat the

system out of $452 million through phony billing. in terms of dollars it is the largest bust by the government's medicare fraud task force ever. the authorities say the suspects include doctors, nurses, social workers, and owners of health care companies. none of them are here in our area. talk about a budget crisis for one town, timonsville, south carolina voted to get rid of its entire police force to try to pay back a loan from the federal government. the town got millions of dollars in federal loans to help bring its water system up to standards. so far it has defaulted on paying the money back. the mayor says the layoffs will be spread out over a few years. residents are outraged. they want to know how the town got into so much debt in the first place. >> dan is down at the verizon center. what's coming up in sports? >> a pivotal game three against the blue shirts for the capitals tonight. they would love to get out of here with a win and take the lead in this second-round nhl playoff series. we're also talking about bounty

gate. more fallout in the nfl for the new orleans saints. and bryce harper, well he didn't get a hit but he shows off his cannon at his nationals park debut as news 4 at 6:00 juicy johnsonville sausage. made with only premium cuts of pork since 1945. johnsonville. sausage is all we do.

welcome back. some of us have seen a lot of clouds across the area today. the clouds will be moving back into washington as a result of the storms back to the west. the storms bringing those clouds right on across our area. temperatures now in the upper 60s in washington. still the one strong storm right now, this one up there toward the potomac river now entering northern portions of loudoun county. here's the potomac right here. here's brunswick into maryland. they have now allowed that severe thunderstorm warning to expire. that is good news. but around love itsville and out the road is where the heavy rain is and along the potomac it continues to move to the south and east and will continue to do so. areas along 662 here and again the border between frederick county or rather, yeah, frederick county and portions of loudoun county. the other area of showers? really falling apart. just south of chantilly around fairfax expect some sprinkles and light showers right now. this will be right along route 50 as you head out toward the west and you'll see some of those showers. they'll continue to move off

toward the east but very, very light. in behind it nothing to show you. the good news is we'll be dry once that moves through but we'll see a repeat of rain during the day tomorrow, maybe in the morning and then again during the afternoon maybe some strong storms, too. >> thanks, doug. we are looking for something to celebrate tonight, down at verizon center. dan is already there. dan? >> you got that right. game three between the rangers and the capitals tonight. so technically they have home ice advantage. in this year's playoffs it doesn't mean much. you remember the caps lost game three in the series against the bruins but then went on to win the whole deal. the caps 4-2 on the road in the playoffs this year. just 1-2 at home. road teams winning more and more in the playoffs. this is a weird, weird year. road squads 34 and 21 in the playoffs this year. the capitals had the third best home record in the east. so eventually they're going to get it going. you know that. but their success on the road is a reason to think this year could be different for the

capitals. after ovi's game-winning goal in game two the capitals in prime position to take control. as for winning on the road in that trend here is jason chmura's theory. >> i think the road team comes in and maybe plays a little simpler and they look at a lot of series a lot of road teams win a lot of games so you got to take that mentality and play simple. you can't be out there to impress fans. it's not the time of year to impress fans but to win games. >> everyone says that we've got to keep it simple and stay patient. i know in front of the home crowd they want to see some, you know, flash and dazzle and we got to keep our game the same as we were playing on the road. that's been successful for us. be patient, defense first. capitalize on our opportunities. and, you know, just play a solid game. >> yeah. we still got a lot of confidence at home. i think it's still where we play our best hockey. it'll really help i think against the rangers. they're a good team in their

eyes. it'll be nice to get the crowd behind us so we can get a little more momentum. >> reporter: the puck drops for carl ozner and the capitals at 7:30 the game on nbc sports net tonight. now it's their only slump of the season. we're talking baseball now but it is a big one. it is growing by the day. the nationals after that fantastic start, 14-4, have now lost four straight games. bryce harper made his home debut at nationals park last night and after five straight losses even he, well, he showed a couple things. didn't get a hit but he did show some arm, man. this was an unbelievable game for harper in terms of defense. harper, two starts in l.a. his first appearance at nationals park just 19 years old. first at bat. goes down swinging. a nasty change-up from trevor cahill. 0 for 3 was harper. this is the play we're talking about. top of the seventh. d'backs up 3-0. the bases loaded. one out. fly ball to harper and check this out.

he says i'm going home. now here's the thing. the ruffnner was called safe. john mcdonald was actually out. you can see that harper was right on target. that was a 300-foot blazer. the d'backs down the nationals, 5-1. that is five straight losses for the nats. but bryce harper said it was still a night to remember. >> you know, running out to left field and, you know, they were really loud and cheering and what not. so, you know, we got a great fan base and really excited about everything going on. we want to win every day and that's our goal to come in here and try to win and have good abs and what not but it's going to happen and turn around and we'll get going and we got a great club house, great ball club and everybody is always in a good mood. we're excited here. >> reporter: and the fallout for the new orleans saints from bounty gate continues. sean peyton the head coach already suspended for the entire year. today the nfl hands down four

other suspensions, this time it's happening to the players. this is a tough pill to swallow for the new orleans saints. the most notable and heaviest sentence has been levied on linebacker jonathan vilma who will miss the entire 2012 season. in addition, defensive tackle anthony hargrove now with the green bay packers suspended for eight games. will smith gets four games. linebacker scott fujita with the cleveland browns now suspended for three games according to an nfl source all four players will appeal their suspensions. finally, a very classy move from tampa by bay buck near's h coach. he signed one of his former players eric le grand to a contract. eric le grand suffered a spinal cord injury during the 2010 season. he can't play football anymore. he can't walk any more. said the coach of the le grand signing we just thought it was the right thing to do.

his character, spirit, and perseverance are unrivaled. let's hit the hellie pad. greg preponderance of the evidenceo vich the nba coach of the year. led them to a number one seed in the conference. butler leaving the horizon league heading to the a-10. we'll see him play. that takes place in the 2013-2014 season. the bulldogs a very good basketball program. and berryville, virginia, their horse is going to start on the post for number six in saturday's kentucky derby. that's right here on nbc 4 of course. 6:24 is the official post time. big derby weekend. hopefully a big night for the capitals. you remember they seemed to trail the entire bruins series before they finally came back to win. it would be nice to see them jump ahead, 2-1, against the rangers and take an early lead in the series. >> and to see the home ice be an

actual advantage. >> yeah. you would think with all the red that's going to be rocking in this place. ovy said it will be an epic night in terms of the fans. >> let's hope it's the sickest game ever for ovi. >> the exact quote. you remember it.

millions living in the upper plains and midwest are dealing with the impact of severe weather. heavy rains flooded a trucking dealership near cincinnati. strong winds knocked down traffic lights in ames, iowa. a firefighter in illinois captured this video of a funnel cloud. nobody was hurt. still got storms rumbling around, doug snnchs we do still have one storm right now moving in toward loudoun county. on storm 4 radar that storm making its way down to the south. still a little bit of lightning left but the storm will die down over the next couple hours here. really over the next probably half hour to an hour as it encounters cooler air but there it is right now fully in through loudoun county right around furnace mountain and around

lucketts. some heavy rain making its way down to the south and east. the rest of us will be seeing nicer weather during the day tomorrow early but still a chance of showers and thunderstorms. a high of 85 tomorrow. 84 on friday. >> warm temperatures. thank you, doug. coming up tonight on news 4 at 11:00 brian williams will join us to talk about what you won't see on the rock center special inside the situation room tonight including some of the things that surprised brian the most about the hunt for bin laden and the night that that raid went down. also at 11:00 wendy rieger with her exclusive look inside the fbi's nerve center and the team that keeps washington safe. plus which local airport is ranked among the worst in the country at 11:00. we have an update on a story we reported monday about a motorcycle that was lost during the tsunami in japan. last year. a man in canada found the bike. it was a harley. in a white metal container that washed up on a beach in

vancouver, british columbia. the man contacted the japanese consulate. they were able to track down the owner of the bike. according to reports in the japanese media the bike belongs to a 29-year-old man who lives in the area that was hit hardest by the tsunami. he lost three members of his family and his house. he says he had been using the white metal ctainer as a garage in his back yard. that it would be found 4,000 miles away 13 months later he says is nothing short of miraculous. he says he is also very thankful. as anyone would be. we understand. ♪

♪

♪ [ male announcer ] everyone likes a bit of order in their life. virtual wallet helps you get it. keep track of spending, move money with a slide, and use the calendar. all to see your money how you want. ♪